OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss baseball opened the 2026 season with a dominant three-game sweep of Nevada, winning 11-3 on Friday, 5-1 on Saturday, and 13-2 on Sunday at Swayze Field. The Wolf Pack, coming off a 2025 Mountain West Conference regular season championship, proved a solid early-season test for the Rebels.
Friday’s opener saw Hunter Elliott on the mound, facing a quick challenge from Nevada’s Jake Harvey, who hit a home run on a nine-pitch at-bat to lead off the game. Elliott, despite allowing the early run, settled in after a mound visit from pitching coach Joel Mangrum. “I experience like a lot of times, first inning stuff is on me for being all over the place,” Elliott said after the game. “But I felt like that at-bat, I executed really well. I threw the pitches where I wanted to, and sometimes that’s just how baseball is.”
The Ole Miss offense responded quickly. A double by Jayce Dobie and a single by Junhyuk Kwon threatened further damage in the first, but Elliott induced a game-ending pickoff to first base, throwing out the runner attempting to advance to second. The Rebels then capitalized on a bases-loaded situation in the second inning, sparked by a double from Murray State transfer Dom Decker, who had previously faced Ole Miss in the NCAA Oxford Regional. Decker, Tristan Bissetta, and Austin Fawley each contributed to a four-run second, extending the lead to 4-1.
Ole Miss continued to add to their lead, with RBIs from Will Furniss, Bissetta, and Daniel Pacella. Elliott finished his outing with five innings pitched, allowing just one earned run and striking out seven. Relievers Owen Kelly and Hudson Calhoun combined to shut down Nevada’s offense, with Calhoun pitching 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, striking out five. “Kelly’s one of my best friends … I don’t desire his runs to score,” Calhoun said. The Rebels finished with 11 hits to Nevada’s nine, despite committing two defensive errors.
Saturday’s game featured a strong offensive showing, highlighted by three home runs. Judd Utermark opened the scoring with a solo shot in the first, and Bissetta followed with a two-run homer in the second. Tate Sirmans added a third home run in the fourth. Sophomore starter Cade Townsend pitched 4.2 innings, striking out a career-high eight batters. Taylor Rabe and Landon Koenig finished the game, securing a 5-1 victory.
The series concluded on Sunday with a decisive 13-2 win. Wil Libbert, a transfer from Missouri, started for Ole Miss and pitched five innings, allowing two runs and tying a career-high with seven strikeouts. The Rebels’ offense exploded, with RBIs from Utermark, Furniss, and Pacella, who hit a towering home run. Reuter contributed with a two-run single in the seventh, helping to secure the win via the run rule.
“Yesterday (Saturday), I understand that we had five runs, but it felt more dominant than that,” Utermark said after Sunday’s game. “I felt like the lead was almost a double-digit lead, but the other two games were great. Each guy knew their individual role.”
